How to Disable Javascript on iPhone & iPad

If you want to turn off Javascript support in Safari for iOS, all you have to do is flip a Setting on your device. Disabling Javascript may be desirable for a variety of reasons, whether it’s to reduce crashes with certain error prone webpages or to stop some obnoxious ads, and it’s also a decent trick to speed up web browsing on slower and older iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch models, since it removes some of the more busy and bandwidth heavy aspects of the web.

Disable Javascript in Safari for iOS

Turning off Safari javascript support is possible with any version of iOS on any device (iPad, iPhone, whatever), though the setting is located in slightly different places in iOS 9, iOS 8, iOS 7 or newer vs iOS 6 and before. Here is what you’ll want to do:

Turning Off Javascript in iOS 9, iOS 8, iOS 7 and newer

Launch the “Settings” app and tap on “Safari”

Go to “Advanced” and locate “Javascript”, then flip the switch to the OFF position

Turning Off Javascript in iOS 6 or Before

Open “Settings” and tap on “Safari”

Locate “Javascript” and flip the switch to OFF

Exit Settings and relaunch Safari

Active webpages may need to be reloaded for the change to take effect.

Navigating the web with Safari will now be javascript free, which can dramatically impact how some websites function, and don’t be surprised to discover some JS dependent webpages stop working at all. On the other hand, much of the web will be noticeably faster on older iOS devices, since AJAX, some ads, and a slew of other common aspects of the web will no longer load at all.

Not surprisingly Javascript can be easily disabled on desktop browsers too, though the process will be a bit different for each app. Much like on older iOS models, it can also be a helpful way to speed up older Macs and PC’s, though the limited web experience can make it a less than ideal solution.

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